2018 New Year’s Message from Romy Tittel

In my own business, my husband and I usually take the time off between Christmas and New Year to take stock of what has happened and what we want to see moving forward. It has been a very hectic time since my leadership win in early November but I have managed to take a couple of days off and reflect on this past year and what I hope to accomplish in 2018.

Having the support of Thana Boonlert and Brian Deheer as my Deputy Leaders makes my job easier and allows for more voices in our decision making processes which always results in a better solution.

I am very proud to have put together an outstanding group of people to take on Shadow Cabinet positions and they have been busy contributing to our political dialogue as well as crafting policies to be voted on in the new year.

Behind the scenes are the Executive council members who keep the wheels turning putting their volunteer efforts towards achieving our political goals. Not to mention the myriad of Green Party volunteers there to help get signatures, put up a sign or knock on doors. It is a group effort that I am very thankful to be a part of.

What has emerged for me over these past fews years in the policitcal realm are these concerns;

Lack of enforcement of existing regulations, especially in the environmental arena. There are also insufficient boots on the ground to monitor and report these activities.

Lack of data to make our important decisions. For example, we are only now taking atmospheric readings from the oil sands tailing ponds.

The negative polictical dialogue that have us talking at each other and not listening to each other. This has also resulted in not working together, which given our challenges, we need all the voices at the table to make the best decisions.

Lack of truthful dialogue, politicians would rather sell us on an emotional hope, such as the oil and gas industry will come back in full force and remain forever. The need for more pipelines despite the government’s own assessment that disputes this. Voting for false hope rather than responsible expectations will only lead to more disappointment.

As the new leader of the Green Party of Alberta here are my hopes and ideas that I will be bringing forward to address those issues of concern;

Adopting the Doughnut Economics model by Kate Raworth as the basis for our political decision making.

Growing Alberta from the soil on up. The agriculture and environment team are working together on a comprehensive plan for our agriculture industry that will incorporate an environmentally sustainable path forward.

Encouraging and facilitating “Intellectual Extraction”. Our technological future is here and there are many positive ways in which we Albertans can benefit from these jobs.

Restoring our environment and protecting it for future generations, with an emphasis on water. We need to incorporate the true cost of our environment and hold accountable those who would damage it.